Laramie Residents Protest Detention, Separation of Immigrants

A few Laramie residents came out on Tuesday to protest the detention of Honduran and other people at the United States southern border and their separation of children from their parents as part of the United States ‘zero-tolerance’ policy on immigration.

“We read today that they have 1,500 children, separated from their parents, holding them in an abandoned Wal-Mart in Texas,” said Chris Christian, one of the protesters. “And we are wondering how they are feeding them, sheltering them and caring for them – they couldn’t possibly even have enough bathrooms.”

Christian said the most pressing issue is what is happening currently at the southern border of the U.S., but there are bigger, ongoing issues with immigration that need to be addressed.

Christian said legislators need to vote for a bill to stop the detention at the border and that Americans need to call and write to their senators and immigration authorities.

“Americans need to tell everybody they know that these people are not here illegally,” Christian said. “They are legally seeking asylum according to our existing laws.”

Sarah Duncan, another protester, said that aside from calling and writing their senators, Americans can donate to a number of groups that are endeavoring to help the children separated from their parents, such as the ACLU.

“Raising awareness is key but also so is materials and resources, so putting your money where you can,” Duncan said.

Duncan said June 30 is set to be a national day of demonstrations against the family separations and detentions.

President Donald Trump has said that U.S. laws are forcing border officials to separate families that are detained at the border seeking asylum.

The U.S. Senate has proposed a bill, the Keep Families Together Act, which would prohibit family separations except for in very specific cases.